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NE-1 Parametric EQ, Still Using it?

watspan

watspan

Nov 25, 2002
1,579
148
67
madison, wi
#1
A year or so back, a lot of us (myself included) bought Yamaha NE-1 parametric equalizers when MF was blowing them out for $25 or so.

Now, a year later, how many still use them? Find them an essential part of your rig or an occasional dalliance?

Personally, mine has become an essential!
I also set mine different that Nathan East's favorite setting! Maybe it's because I bi-amp into an odd ampeg cabinet(pr1528he), but I use mine on deep 8 or so. I get a really scooped hi-fi kind of tone. I find that w/o it, my tone is too flat and nasally. It also seems a great device if you need to quickly "tweak on the fly" .

What's your experience?
 
#2
I am still using mine with 3 basses for different reasons. My G-3 really speaks on deep 6, fretless is perfectly phat on deep 4 and I use it to control the Barcus Berry magnetic pickup I added to my Washburn AB-20. I have also used it several times as a quick and ez fix while recording acoustic guitar especially on a boomy 12 string.
 
#3
That was my thread. :D

Honestly, I didn't use all that much it until I bought my new P-Bass about a month and a half ago. It worked good, but I didn't really need to use it in a given scenario. I like to put it in front of my Hartke practice amp when I'm not at rehearsal.

Then one day I brought it to practice and put it between my SVT and my P and WOW. Amazing tone with the EQ flat on the amp. (Maybe a touch of bass boost.) To use the cliche, it makes my P-Bass sound like it's on steroids. Good stuff.

Oh yeah, I usually use shallow. I find the deep settings a little too extreme. Usually around 1 o'clock on the other control, and I'm aces.
 
#9
I used it with a crappy Ibanez and fretless Fender -- made them sound natural and tasty, now I use it with my acoustic upright... still sounds great, adds that balance. My MM4 doesn't really need it, the bass is great on its own. Very great and useful piece of gear! I actually bought mine for 50$.
 
#11
OK, resurrecting an ancient thread here...

Still a valid question - maybe even moreso now - are any of you out there using it?

On a whim I decided to buy one and give it a whirl. Unfortunately not at the silly price many of you bought them for a while back...

I've read the old threads, and many people refer to this as strictly a mid-scoop device.

While I don't have it (yet) and thus can't base an opinion on my ears, the frequency response curve on the spec sheet clearly shows a "flat" line and clearly shows boosting above the flat line going on above and below the center frequency.

So it looks like it cuts at a center freq and boosts at freq's somewhat below and above that.

Again, based solely on the graph.

I've realized I may have acquired a slight case of GAS as this is the second totally unneeded gizmo I've bought recently just to toy with! I'm worried this might morph into full-blown Phase IV GAS where I'm buying all sorts of crap I can't use just to plug it in and review it. Help!!

I'll report back once I get it.
 
#15
Always fun to revisit an old thread. :D I sold mine a while back - there was nothing wrong with it, but I just moved on to something different. I tend to go through preamps and compressors every once in a while, just because the rest of my gear is pretty constant and it's cheaper than buying new basses. :D

It was still a cool little unit. If you can pick one up for less than $50, it's definitely a good buy.
 
#16
I liked mine but bought it at a time when I was getting away from the mid scoop sound and going for a much more even or flat eq. The NE-1 was reallyneatbut had about the worst bypass I had ever heard. Turning the knob to the flat position yielded some really bad tone suck.

Of course the unit was meant to be left on. I found it sucked all the growl (mid) out of my fretless and although, the particular sweet tone it provides is somewhat intoxicating, I found my tone without this box in line was more nataural, cut thru the mix better and just sounded better.

Having said all that, I really wish I'd kept the damm thing!!!! Just for the fun and collectable aspect of it.
 

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